STMicroelectronics Rises in Buoyant Automotive Market

    GENEVA--October 22, 2001--

    ST ranked as world's third largest chip supplier for automotive, first in Asia/Rest of World and most successful non-Japanese supplier
    in Japan

    In the semiconductor industry's most buoyant segment, STMicroelectronics substantially outgrew the market and moved up in the world rankings, according to leading industry analyst Gartner, which recently released its study of the automotive semiconductor market for 2000(a).
    According to the report, ST's $807 million sales to the worldwide automotive market during 2000 represented an impressive growth of 44.6% over 1999, compared to the industry average of 24.3%. This growth - the largest among the 16 companies that billed more than $200 million in 2000 and accounted for nearly two-thirds of the world market - propelled ST into the number three position worldwide.
    In Europe, whose 34.5% market share makes it the world's largest automotive market, ST grew 31.1% (regional average 24.3%), overtaking Robert Bosch to move up to third position. In the sluggish North American market, which grew by only 6.6%, ST retained its number five position.
    ST's most spectacular successes took place in Japan and Asia. In the Japanese market, which grew by 29.2%, ST was easily the best performer and its 117.5% growth allowed it to leapfrog Motorola, Oki, Texas Instruments, Rohm and Sharp to the number eight position, making it the highest ranking non-Japanese supplier in a market traditionally dominated by domestic suppliers.
    The Asia/Pacific and Rest of World region was the fastest growing regional market, with an 85.7% growth that took it to $1,465 million. According to the report, ST's sales in this region grew 346.4% (more than ten times the growth of Motorola, the 1999 leader) to $125 million, catapulting it into the number one position with a market share 50% higher than that of its closest competitor.
    "Automotive is one of ST's strategic priorities and we are delighted that our long-term investments in this market are coming to such fruition," said Sergio Garue, Group Vice-President and General Manager, Audio & Automotive Division, STMicroelectronics.
    ST's automotive products cover every aspect of the industry, from rugged discrete transistors optimized to withstand the hazards of the automotive environment to advanced System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions that integrate digital processors, analog circuitry, power drivers and non-volatile memory on a single chip.

    About STMicroelectronics

    STMicroelectronics is the world's third largest independent semiconductor company. The Company shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, on Euronext Paris and on the Milan Stock Exchange. The Company designs, develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs) and discrete devices used in a wide variety of microelectronic applications, including telecommunications systems, computer systems, consumer products, automotive products and industrial automation and control systems. In 2000, the Company's net revenues were $7,813.2 million and net earnings were $1,452.1 million. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com.

    (a) "Worldwide and Regional Automotive Semiconductor Application Market Share Rankings, 2000", Gartner Dataquest, August 2001.